Crude Mining Pick

[omnon]

Crude Mining Pick

This simply fashioned pick is barely more than a wooden handle with a steel spike embedded in one end. Crude and unbalanced it is unsuitable for fighting but can be used for simple mining.

Type: Club

Weight increase 60% (5lb.)
Damage Penalty: -3 (or -5)



Something like this would allow anyone to try mining and not just the martial weapon types. After all, not all miners are fighters.
On another server my wizard used to mine with magic. Alternating heating and freezing will shatter rock, separating it from any minerals/ores embedded within. I dont expect that to be done here but it would be nice to have a mining pick that anyone can use.

[kalbaern]

After some overlong thinking on this along with some brain sharing with a few others, we're not going to implement this feature in the near future. This might not be a permanent "No" however. I've been pondering alternatives, but I'm also still on the fence about implementing any of them, at least soon.

One thing I like about D&D is that you can design characters that are unique. As we've built The Savage Frontier and Surrounds, we've tried to highlight some of those unique options. Mini maps erase in most woods unless you are a Druid, Ranger or Harper; making exploring for others just a tad more confusing. Locks and traps can reward XP, and while most can take points in these skills as a cross class, part of the XP reward is based on how many total skill points you have and Rogues still come out with a slight edge, assuming they invested more heavily in these skills.

Martial types here have less unique options than other classes do in general. So making a mining option that anyone can use makes them just slightly less unique, especially in a party. Though, if I were to enable such, I'd just change the light picks to also recognize the Simple Weapons Feat as valid also. This however would have to wait until we did a hak update here, which we will at some point, but there's no ETA as we'd wait until there is a significant amount of new content worthy of expanding our haks. (BTW, we do have new creature and placeable appearances, along with new weapon and armor options, not to mention several tileset expansions pending. A few of the creatures we added in our last hak update are still awaiting animation fixes and the tilesets are ongoing WIPs which just means delaying will allow us to hopefully add more features.) Classes not able to use either of the mining picks here also have an option, they could simply cross class and gain the Martial Weapons Feat. I also understand most folks dislike this as an option. Mainly because here, you need to have a minimum of three levels in all classes before you can take a PrC or by the time you reach 20th level, whichever comes first. So folks playing otherwise -pure- builds see this as a non-option.

Anyhow, for now, mining picks will require you have the Martial Weapons Feat. It may or may not change in the future. At some point, I'd also like to add a -wood chopping- feature, which I'm certain will bring back similar requests and debates.